Just Once
by JacAlley
Summary: Rachel wished that just once her birthday would go right. The 5 times Quinn ruined Rachel's birthday, and the 1 time she made her day. Light amount of fluffy almost Faberry. One shot.


AN: This was just a random idea I had early Saturday and it just wouldn't leave me be until I wrote it. I usually see a lot of these five times stories in The Social Network fandom, and I love them, so I figured I'd write one for Faberry. I'm working with Rachel's birthday being December 18, 1994 like she told Jesse, despite the fact that it makes her a year younger than the average class of 2012er. I think that speaks volumes about Rachel, but I'll explore that later.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

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><p><strong>December 16, 2006 – Rachel's 12th Birthday Party<strong>

Even in the seventh grade, Rachel Berry still invited her entire homeroom to her birthday party. She knew what it felt like to miss out on birthday parties, and she wanted to make sure no one else felt that way. It also allowed her a larger take on presents, but she tried to push that selfish thought down whenever it popped up.

Her fathers recently completed a surprise makeover in the basement – Rachel's very own nightclub of sorts: stage, lights, and everything to make it suitable for impromptu performances for whoever happened to drop by. And to celebrate, Rachel was throwing the biggest karaoke party to ever hit Lima.

Actually, it was probably the only one to ever hit Lima. Karaoke was far too controversial.

Rachel's Daddy got her up that morning and took her to pick up her custom-tailored dress, then surprised her with breakfast at IHOP and full hair and makeup at the salon she always begged to visit. She left with her long hair pinned up to look like 1920s bob and eyes so dark she thought she looked like Elizabeth Taylor in her Cleopatra days.

Perfection.

They returned home just in time for Rachel to help her Dad put the finishing touches on all the Chicago-themed decorations. The Karaoke DJ arrived a bit later, and Rachel made absolutely sure he didn't scratch or dent her brand new stage and or ruin her pink rhinestone encrusted microphones. They were her babies.

Rachel headed up to her room and put on the black flapper dress (it fell to just past her knees with all its long hanging beads as to not be inappropriate), back-seamed pantyhose, and black beaded kitten heels.

She was ready for her dads to let her know when all the RSVPed guests had arrived so she could make her grand entrance down the staircase they'd draped in red curtains so it was like she was coming from backstage.

She waited in her room for over two hours before her dads came up.

None of her classmates came to her party. No gifts. No fun. No singing. Her fathers offered to sing with her, but sometimes Rachel wondered where she got her impeccable talents. Both her dads sounded…well…terrible. Instead, she sang the full repertoire she currently planned to record if she got a recording contract for her dads and the Richard Gere impersonator they hired, and they all shared a nice dinner of take out from BreadstiX.

Later that night, after she had changed and disassembled the entire party, she called Kurt Hummel.

"Rachel! You're home?"

"Of course I'm home, Kurt! I've been home all day! You know, for my _birthday party_ you RSVPed for and then didn't show up to!"

There was silence on Kurt's end.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Kurt?"

"Rachel. We all thought you had monkey pox."

It turned out that Quinn Fabray, a pretty blonde cheerleader in Rachel's class, along with her friends Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce from another 7th grade class, called all the invitees and told them Rachel's party was cancelled because she was in the Lima Animal Hospital, valiantly fighting the monkey pox she contracted following a whirlwind romance with a chimpanzee named Boots at the Lima Zoo.

Monday at school, Rachel approached Quinn in the hallway just before class. "Good morning, Quinn."

Quinn looked at Rachel, tutted, rolled her eyes, and went back to applying more glitter gel to her slicked back pony.

"I couldn't help but notice that you RSVPed to my birthday party on Saturday, but then you didn't come. It's a shame because we all had such a good time! There was karaoke and cake and I gave away my demo tape I recorded in Chicago last summer as the favor. My fathers even hired a Richard Gere impersonator. He was quite majestically beautiful, but nowhere near the dreamboat of the actual grey-haired fox. "

Quinn slammed her locker closed then stared the much shorter girl down. "Don't lie, Rachel. Liars go to hell."

Rachel was taken aback. No one had ever directly cursed in front of her. "I'm… I'm not lying!"

"Yes you are, Rachel, because no one went to your loser Great Depression birthday party or whatever it was supposed to be. No one likes being depressed."

"Well…well that's true! But it was Chicago-themed! Like the movie! But if people had come it would have been lovely! Especially if you hadn't told everyone I had monkey pox!"

Quinn looked around and smirked, then loudly said, "Rachel, I can't help it if you're pregnant with your Chimp-lover's chimp babies! Maybe you should have considered that consequences before you made out with a chimpanzee!"

Everyone laughed. Quinn gave Rachel an insincere smile before harshly whispering, "loser" into her ear and walking off.

That was the first time Quinn Fabray made Rachel cry.

* * *

><p><strong>December 14, 2007 – Rachel's 13th Birthday Party<strong>

Today was Rachel's big day. Thirteen. Finally a teenager. Her father's took her for a whirlwind day. First, they'd gone to IHOP, like they did most years the morning of the celebration of her birthday. Rachel had ordered an adult meal for the first time, though she still got chocolate chip pancakes. They then took her to the movies to see August Rush, Atonement, and The Golden Compass. She'd loved all three. The music of August Rush, the costumes and romance of Atonement, and the girl-ruled adventure of The Golden Compass. Afterward, they'd gone to BreadstiX for dinner.

All and all it was a good year, though a little less lavish than usual due to the extensive redecoration to Rachel's bedroom and Diva, the palomino she'd received living out on a farm in De Graff.

All in all, it'd been a rewarding birthday.

Just after ordering drinks, Rachel excused herself to the bathroom. She'd drank three large diets Cokes at the Regal and a barrel of popcorn between the three movies. She was always an emotional eater.

She slid into the bathroom and did her business, before coming out to wash her hands.

"Well, well, well."

Rachel looked up into the mirror to see Quinn Fabray, flanked by Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce, exiting the other three stalls. She smiled apprehensively. "Good evening, Quinn. Santana. Brittany." She nodded to each in recognition as she scrubbed at her hands.

Santana rolled her eyes before going to the sink next to Rachel.

"Hey, Rachel!" Brittany said cheerfully, skipping to the sink on Santana's other side, her pony bobbing behind her.

Quinn stayed planted where she was, smirk painted across her features. "So, Berry, you here with your two dads?"

Rachel nodded.

"What's the occasion?"

"We're celebrating my birthday early…it's on Tuesday."

"Oh my gosh! Happy birthday! Did you get a bunny?" Brittany asked enthusiastically. Santana stared at her like she was from another planet.

Rachel smiled at the sweet blonde. "No. But I got a horse. I named her Diva. We're boarding her in De Graff and I'm going to have lessons there on Saturdays before dance class!"

"Awesome!" Brittany cheered, clapping her wet hands and spraying Santana a bit in the process.

Rachel nodded enthusiastically. "It is!"

"Oh, well," Quinn came up to the sink on Rachel's other side and quickly washed her hands, "happy birthday. We're here on dates."

Rachel stared. "Dates?" Rachel felt so far behind. She'd only eaten off the adult's menu for the first time this morning and these three Junior Cheerios were on dates.

"Yeah, dates. I'm thinking about going steady with Finn Hudson. You know him, Rachel. He sits next to you in Mr. Gardener's class."

Finn Hudson was the epitome of the eighth grade dreamboat. Rachel knew the tall boy well. She nodded in response to Quinn.

"And Santana is here with Noah Puckerman."

"I'm here by myself, even though I'm actually here with my boyfriend Claus," Brittany told her.

"He's imaginary," Santana reminded her.

"Right," Brittany said.

Quinn dried off her hands. "So Berry, what are you thinking of having for dinner?"

"Hm. Well, almost everything here is quite lovely. I was thinking perhaps the meat lasagna or spaghetti Bolognese or maybe chicken Alfredo."

Quinn nodded and smiled her usual (fake) smile. "Well that's good. Enjoy your birthday." And the three girls left.

Rachel smiled to herself. That hadn't gone nearly as bad as she imagined it would. She turned back to the sink and began to rewash her hands because she didn't trust her bathroom.

The door opened again, but Rachel was focused on her hands.

"Hey, Poison Berry! Maybe this will help you make up your mind!"

Then she was covered in something warm and sticky. She could make out the red of the meat sauce dripping quicker than the rest of the mess off the bottom of her chin. The Alfredo sauce was moving a little slower, slowly making its way into her eyes. A chunk of lasagna sat atop her head.

Rachel began to cry as Quinn, Santana, and their two dates laughed, snapped pictures on their camera phones, and slipped out of the bathroom.

"Hey, Berry, I hear they use horse meat instead of beef here to cut down on costs," Quinn told her, before smiling again and leaving last.

From that day on, Rachel Berry was a vegan.

* * *

><p><strong>December 18, 2008 – Rachel's 14th Birthday<strong>

Rachel was excited for her first birthday in high school. She'd spent the weekend in Chicago with her fathers, even skipping school the previous Friday, and now she was back in Lima, but still excited. A girl didn't turn 14 everyday, you know.

Now that she was in a lot of extracurricular activities, including the glee club and the Model UN, she expected to receive many birthday wishes.

But by lunch, she'd received none.

After lunch, the hallways were full of people going to and from class, with locker stops in between. She saw Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce coming toward her, pinkies linked as per usual.

"Hi, Rachel! Happy birthday!" the bubbly cheerleader shouted, waving with her free hand.

Rachel smiled. What a sweet girl. "Thank you, Brittany!" She looked at Santana expectantly.

All Santana did was smirk and say, "Hey Berry, I think there's a present coming behind you."

Rachel threw Santana a puzzled look. Maybe the Cheerios felt bad for ruining her birthday the past two years? Rachel quickly turned around, only to receive something hard, cold, stinging, and cherry flavored right in the face.

Those around her laughed hysterically. Rachel sputtered, spitting the icy drink out of her mouth and wiping her eyes. Her shirt was ruined, as were most of her books, which she dropped to the ground in shock. When she could see again, Quinn Fabray stood before her, obviously content with the mess she'd made.

"Happy Birthday, man hands! Enjoy your day!"

For the rest of the day, Rachel received many mocking birthday wishes.

It was the first slushie occurrence in McKinley history.

* * *

><p><strong>December 18, 2009 – Rachel's 15th Birthday<strong>

Rachel felt conflicted. Just one week before, New Directions won sectionals and today was her 15th birthday. But just a week before, Rachel revealed the truth about the paternity of Quinn's baby to Finn and now he wasn't with either of them.

For now, she would celebrate, even though it hurt just a bit.

It was a Friday night, and she was throwing a glee-wide sleepover, under her fathers' supervision (girls in her room, boys in the living room, fathers' room between the two). Her nightclub in the basement was under renovation for updates to the sound system, and she, devastatingly, could not throw a karaoke party (and the thought of doing so again still stung). She invited everyone, just to be fair, but dreaded no one showing up.

Instead she'd put together a selection of several musical movies with themes of overcoming adversity, including the High School Musical movies since she felt like they perfectly personified her situation with Finn. She knew some people would be opposed to them, so she always chose Hairspray and Footloose. A nice combination of musicals based on singing and musicals based on dancing, if she did say so herself.

Everyone would be arriving at 7, in time to eat the homemade pizzas Rachel had put together when she arrived home from school. There was extra cheese, meat lovers, veggie, and Rachel's personal favorite: tofu, tomatoes, basil and extra chunky, garden vegetable sauce on a whole grain crust. She made some dessert pizzas instead of cake, a platter of vegetables and various (secretly vegan) dips, and premixed pancake mix for the next morning. She'd bought an assortment of vegan candies and organic juices, as well as soda, chips, and regular chocolate.

She hoped she'd touched all the bases.

As Rachel put the finishing touches on what she had deemed her pillow palace – a huge assortment of pillows, cushions, and blankets strewn near the 60-inch flat screen – the doorbell rang.

Someone really did come! And an hour early!

Rachel ran to answer the door, and to her surprise, Brittany – sans Santana – stood on the porch.

"Hi, Rachel! Happy birthday!" The chipper blonde dropped her bags as she gave the shorter birthday girl a bone-crushing hug.

"Hi, Brittany! Thank you so much for coming!" Rachel pulled away a little, choking for breath. "You know, it's only six…the party doesn't start until seven."

"Oh, I know, my family doesn't believe in daylight savings time. I get to school an hour early everyday."

Rachel wasn't sure what to say to that, so she ignored it. "Can I help with your things? Us girls will be sleeping upstairs in my room."

"No, I've got it!" Brittany threw her backpack back on, grabbed her sleeping bag under an arm, and handed Rachel the biggest gift bag she'd ever seen. "This is for you!"

"Thank you, Brittany!"

After getting Brittany settled in upstairs, the blonde Cheerio helped Rachel slip the pre-laid out pizzas into the oven and bring out all the snacks. Rachel found that Brittany, much like she'd always assumed, was a genuinely sweet and caring girl. Rachel quickly realized that perhaps she wasn't as dumb as she looked – Brittany spoke of many superstitions her parents upheld and wondered if they were slightly off-beat, causing Brittany's interesting personality.

Right on time, Tina and Mercedes arrived. Kurt sat out in his SUV, refusing to come in until 7:07, "fashionably late!" he'd yelled from the open window.

Soon after, Mike and Matt arrived, followed quickly by Santana, who made a beeline for Brittany without a word to Rachel, though she did shove a newspaper-wrapped package into her chest as she pushed by. Rachel ran out to help Artie around to the back door so he could wheel in smoothly around 7:10. Finn arrived, with a soft smile and a card at 7:12. He gave her a quick squeeze, and then ran off saying something about potato chip sandwiches with artichoke dip.

Rachel waited impatiently on Puck and Quinn's arrival before starting the party.

7:30 came and went, still with no Puck and Quinn.

Rachel eventually served some pizza, saving slices for the soon-to-be parents.

At 7:40, Puck's mom pulled into the driveway. Rachel watched from the front window as Quinn, relegated to the backseat despite her pregnancy, wordlessly exited the car, slamming the door behind her, without looking back. Puck's mother gave him quite the look before he sighed and shrugged, then got out too.

Rachel opened the door, and a fuming Quinn stomped in, only a McKinley gym bag in hand. She looked at Rachel for a second, before quietly saying, "I didn't have money for a gift. I'm sorry. Do you think I could sleep on a bed or a cot or something? My back is a wreck from the _sofa_ at Puck's and I don't have a sleeping bag anymore."

Rachel didn't exactly want to anger the girl. "Don't worry about it. And of course, you can share with me."

Quinn grimaced for a moment, before curtly nodding as if to say "that'll suffice," before going over to the food table and munching a baby carrot drenched in ranch dressing.

Puck followed a few seconds later. "Sup Rach?" He nodded, holding out a plastic bag. "I got you a pint of that vegan ice cream junk you like. Happy birthday."

Rachel smiled. "Thank you, Noah, I appreciate it."

Puck made a beeline for the guys. Rachel watched Finn tense, but eventually give up and act as if Noah was welcomed back with open arms, despite what Finn said to him after sectionals. Quinn stood by herself, bag still on her shoulder.

Rachel walked up to her. "Would you like me to take that upstairs for you? There's some pizza in the kitchen. Homemade, all natural, hormone-free, organic products so it's super healthy for you and the baby."

Quinn sighed. She handed her bag to Rachel. "Thank you," she said softly before heading off to the kitchen and devouring the rest of the bacon-laden meat lover's pizza as if she hadn't eaten in a week.

Poor girl.

Rachel got out the chilled dessert pies, and Kurt and Mercedes stuck 16 candles – 15 for her age and 1 for good luck – into the fruit one. Everyone ate after Rachel's wish, and then she opened her presents.

Ice cream from Puck, a large stuffed rabbit from Brittany ("I know you didn't get one that year at BreadstiX!" Rachel and Quinn both visibly stiffened at the reminder), new earrings from Kurt, a matching bracelet from Mercedes, a fun hair kit (including different colored clip-in extensions) from Tina, and iTunes gift cards from Artie, Santana (along with perfume), Mike, Matt, and Finn. Rachel felt it was a good take for this year.

The boys insisted on watching Footloose first, and Rachel took the opportunity to get some dishes done. What she didn't expect was for Finn to join her.

"Hey, Rach."

She smiled up at him while scrubbing one of the pizza pans. "Hello, Finn. Enjoying yourself?"

Finn nodded. "Yeah. This is all really nice, and the food is really good…even if it's healthy."

Rachel threw him a devilish smirk. "If only you knew _just_ how healthy."

Finn shuddered at the thought and they both laughed. Finn came over to the sink and grabbed the dishtowel. "So I was thinking…"

Rachel looked up at him. "Yes?"

"Maybe tomorrow night we could go to BreadstiX."

This was it. This is what Rachel had been waiting for since the 7th grade. This is what she'd been dreaming of since they'd kissed at their stage picnic. "Like…like a date?"

Finn nodded. "Yeah. And to, you know, celebrate winning and your birthday." And you not being tied down to Quinn for the next 18 years, Rachel thought.

Rachel tried to keep calm. "Definitely. What time?"

"Um…how's 6?"

She beamed at him. "Sounds lovely."

Finn smiled. "Awesome." Then he left to join the others.

Rachel finished up her dishes and rejoined the group just in time for the cops to pull Ren over for playing music in his car. She settled in between Finn and Kurt, the former of which smiled and shared the corner of his blanket.

The movie went well, for a while.

"Oh my God!" Quinn suddenly shouted, hand on her stomach.

"What? What's wrong?" Puck demanded. "Is it coming?"

Quinn glared at her baby's father. "No, you idiot! She kicked!" The smile that took over Quinn's face was infectious, and soon most of the glee club was beaming at her, trying to get a hand on her belly.

Rachel saw everything held within the look that Quinn and Finn shared: sadness over the baby's true paternity, sadness over their break up, and the longing to be back together.

The rest of the party was a discussion of baby names and baby plans, even though Rachel knew Quinn didn't want to keep her baby girl. But everyone was enthusiastically talking about his or her future children, and Rachel wondered if maybe Quinn had plans for _real_ little Finn's after she gave this one up. Maybe that was the only reason she was excited.

The only two quiet partiers were Puck and Rachel.

Puck hadn't said a word, but left his hand on Quinn's stomach for the entire conversation. He looked in absolute awe of his daughter's first movement.

And Rachel was quiet because she'd never considered children. Children had a habit of hindering careers. She just hoped if she ever had a child, she'd be the Liza to her Judy.

It turned out Quinn and Finn had all the same plans: white picket fence, 3 kids (a girl, a boy 4 years later, and another girl two years later), vacations in North Carolina. They wanted Winnie the Pooh nurseries, ballet and piano lessons, football and soccer. Their kids would be perfect: blonde, blue eyed, tall, athletic, and no doubt popular to boot. Everything Rachel wasn't.

Rachel wondered how her birthday party became an impromptu baby shower for Quinn.

* * *

><p><strong>December 18, 2010 – Rachel's 16th Birthday<strong>

It was Rachel's sweet sixteen. She had no party planned for this year. None at all. She was too depressed for party planning since her break up with Finn.

Instead, her dads planned to take her out to a swanky restaurant Saturday night for the continuation of her birthday weekend. Friday night they saw two movies, Black Swan and I Love You Phillip Morris, at an art house an hour away.

Her dads bought her a brand new dress that waited for her after her shower. It was a knee-length black sheath, covered in square shaped sequins with a scoop neck and thick tank straps. The first word that came to Rachel's mind was "slinky". It was lovely, and made her feel all grown up.

Rachel slipped it on. She left her hair down, straightened to perfection, and did a light makeup job with smoky eyes. She found matching shoes near the door, and put on her new necklace: a delicate gold chain with a lovely script R, a gold star attached to the leg of the R.

Shelby had sent it from her new house with Beth in Fort Wayne. A note about her knew job as the choir director at a Christian school and church and Beth's new ear piercings (gold star studs) was included. Cradled in between the folds of the light pink note was a picture of Rachel's adoptive biological baby half-sister (adoptive because of Beth's biological parentage, biological because Shelby was only her mother by blood). The baby had a dusting of dark blonde hair, hazel eyes shaped like Quinn's, and Puck's full mouth, chin, and jaw. Rachel truly hoped she could bond with their baby someday. She knew what it felt like to be given away, even if the circumstances were much different. But Beth was now her sister, and it was important to Rachel to make sure Beth was never a lonely only child. Rachel wondered if maybe she should share the note and photo with Quinn and Puck on Monday.

Rachel convinced her dads it was a gift they'd given her at Hanukkah years ago when they asked about it. They were none the wiser to Shelby's illegal contact.

She came downstairs and her dads wolf whistled at the sight of her. She giggled, spun, and gave each a hug. Before she knew it, they were on their way to Le Petit Bistro.

The parking lot was full, but they somehow found a spot near the door. Rachel's dads lead her into the dark restaurant. She wondered why it was so dark; the mood was usually never like this.

As Rachel came past the foyer, she saw why.

"Surprise!"

The deafening scream of all Rachel's friends and families startled her, and she stared, open mouthed at the group of well-dressed people before her. Her fathers laughed from behind her quickly crowned her with a rhinestone tiara and red velvet cape. "Happy birthday, Princess!"

"Oh my god!" Rachel screamed, smile spitting her face. "How did you manage this?"

"We just wanted to surprise you sweetie!"

The entire glee club was there, as were Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury. Both sets of grandparents were up from Boca, and her Daddy's brother, sister-in-law, and niece were up from Arizona. Girls from her dance lessons were there, as were many other people she knew from various classes and places. Rachel was absolutely floored.

The restaurant was set up with round, gold-clothed tables surrounding the dance floor. Gold and red decorations hung tastefully from the ceiling. A buffet of gourmet hors d'oeuvres was against the wall opposite a drink and gift table full of ribbons and bows and bags. Rachel was in awe.

"Go say hi to everyone!"

Rachel made her way to the crowd and began greeting all her guests. There were hugs and kisses all around, even from Finn who awkwardly patted her bag.

The night went off without a hitch. There was a DJ and dancing, the glee club performed a special number in her honor, and dinner was lovely. After their meal was cleared away, the buffet was replenished with dozens of pastries. Rachel slipped away to the bathroom.

She looked herself in the mirror and softly spoke. "Everything is perfect. Your party is going off without a hitch, everyone is happy, the food is exquisite, as is the entertainment, _you_ are happy. Finn seems to be warmer than more recent run ins. Just stay calm and you can get back together by the end of the night."

A stall door slammed open behind her. Rachel looked up in the mirror to find Quinn, dressed in a plan black strapless dress and white cardigan, her hair hanging down in loose, voluminous curls staring hard at her. "Positive affirmations, Rachel?"

Rachel nodded. "Yes. I feel like I'm going to get very hyper very soon, and a hyper Rachel is a destructive Rachel."

Quinn nodded. She exited her stall and came to the sink, washing her hands. "You shouldn't talk to yourself when you don't know who's around. They might have you committed."

Rachel laughed a little, but Quinn didn't. She scrubbed under nails and up her wrists and rinsed. She looked at Rachel as she towel-dried her hands. "You and Finn will never work, you know."

Rachel stared at the blonde, her heart plummeting to her feet. "We…we might have hit a snag right now, but we're stronger than that. I think we'll get back together by the end of the night!"

Quinn sighed heavily. "Look Rachel. I know Finn completes your perfect little fantasy, whatever the hell it is. But Finn doesn't even know what he wants in life, so how can he know he'll be with you forever. He can't. You can't either. You're 16. If you tie yourself down to a man now, it'll ruin your life." She wiped under her bottom lashes, cleaning up some smudged, runny mascara. She turned and looked Rachel directly in the eye. "Can I be frank?"

Rachel nodded. "What have you been so far, if not frank?"

"Forget Finn. Make it about yourself. Because in 10 years, he won't matter."

Rachel lifted her chin. "It's sad that you're still jealous of my relationship with Finn. Especially since you have Sam. Finn and I are in love. We just need to work through our issues."

"Rachel, you and Finn wouldn't know what love was if it bit you in the ass."

"Like you would!" Rachel shouted.

Quinn ignored the shorter girl's outburst and started toward the door. She stopped without opening it or turning back. "You and Finn will never work out, Rachel. Stop forcing something that isn't there with Finn. Give the rest of us a chance at a second chance."

The rest of the party was a downer after that. All that was left were cake and presents, but she didn't want either. Quinn disappeared after the bathroom exchange. Rachel soon realized Finn had left as well, without saying goodbye. Rachel cried miserably the entire ride home. Finn must be giving Quinn her second chance while denying Rachel hers.

That was the night Quinn stole Finn away from Rachel.

Or so, that's what Rachel thought.

* * *

><p><strong>December 17, 2011 – Rachel's 17th Birthday Party<strong>

The week before Rachel's 17th birthday, she gave up on big parties. Instead, she threw parties for everyone else.

Her father's had assigned her a budget for the party that year, but instead she'd purchased them a long weekend trip to Key West as a "thank you for birthing me and bringing me up" party. Her Daddy was on leave from the University for winter holidays and she'd pulled some strings with the nurses at Lima General to get her Dad the time off without him knowing. She'd packed all their bags Thursday after Glee, surprised them at 4 Friday morning, and the limo she'd rented for the drive to the airport picked them up at 6. They'd be back in time for Hanukkah.

Friday afternoon at glee club, she'd surprised New Directions with cupcakes ordered from Crumbs in New York City. She'd got each person his or her own favorite flavors, and had each cupcake specially decorated. The look of sheer joy on Brittany's face at the tiny, stenciled cherry syrup dolphins circling an actual cherry atop her cherry blossom cupcake was enough to tell Rachel she did the right thing with her birthday budget.

Her fathers' gift had been a gently used car (early 2000s, cherry red, and very small and girly) that they'd picked up over Thanksgiving break. The glee club had pooled their resources to get her ladybug seat and steering wheel covers, as well as one of those greatest show tunes of all time collection CDs for the car. She'd named her little car Lady B (and had vanity plates that proved it). The car and all its accessories were the best and most heartfelt gifts she had ever received.

She had never felt less selfish about her birthday choices and happiness over her birthday gifts.

Drama on the Quinn and Finn front was quiet this semester. After the debacle that was prom, their relationship shattered rather quickly. Finn came back to Rachel, and they lasted through the summer before Rachel realized they had grown apart (and that Finn was a bit of a handful at times). Since the platonic turn in their relationship, Rachel and Finn had become true friends. They quickly realized this was the relationship they had sought from each other all along, and not the whirlwind romance they were convinced they should have.

After losing prom queen to Lauren, Quinn gave up on Finn and Puck and Sam and boys in general. She hadn't dated a soul and still hadn't returned to the Cheerios. Rachel didn't know what to make of her baby sister's biological mother these days. She owned the halls, even without slushies. She wasn't a bully; she was just cold. A "head bitch in charge" Blaine told her. Rachel didn't know how to feel about it.

It seemed like this head bitch in charge was the true Quinn Fabray all along.

Rachel settled into bed with a bowl of lightly salted kettle corn and Sex and the City queued up when the doorbell rang. She sighed. Just her luck.

She hopped up and headed downstairs and was more than shocked at the sight on her front porch.

"Quinn?" she addressed the crying girl softly.

She wiped at her eyes. "Can I come in?"

"Of course!" Rachel moved aside to let Quinn past and quickly closed the door behind her in order to kill the chill.

Quinn stood awkwardly in her cold weather wear, not knowing what to do.

"If you don't mind," Rachel started, "I'm a bit cold down here," she gestured to her pajama shorts set, "could we go up to my room to talk?"

Quinn nodded. "Of course."

The two mismatched girls headed up to Rachel's, where Quinn stripped off her coat, scarf, hat, and boots. She stood awkwardly near the door, still sniffling.

"I'd…I'd give you a hug, but I'm not sure how you'd respond."

Quinn shook her head. "Please don't."

Rachel nodded. "Um…would you like to sit?" Rachel motioned toward the large expanse of bed she wasn't taking up.

Quinn nodded and perched herself primly near the edge. "I'm sorry to do this…I know it's your birthday weekend."

Rachel nodded. "It's perfectly fine. It's nice to have a little company with my Dads in Florida."

"As a matter of fact," Quinn continued, "I'm sorry I've done this every year."

Rachel furrowed her brow. "Quinn, this is only the second time you've ever been over."

"I meant, ruin your birthday.

"Oh."

"Yeah." Quinn sniffled. "I was such a terrible person."

"You were just lost."

Quinn laughed quietly, bitterly, and shook her head. "No I wasn't. I was scared."

Rachel frowned. "Scared of what?"

Quinn shook her head again, as if attempting to knock the idea right out of it. "I just wanted to apologize." She took a deep breath and was silent for a few minutes. She looked up at the television and spoke again, much more composed. "Is this Sex and the City?"

"Yes, the first movie."

"Oh…I've never seen it. Not even the show. I always wanted to but…I wasn't allowed. And then I never had the chance when I was out of my par- my mom's house. And now I'm not allowed again."

"Well, feel free to join me. I was only a few minutes in; I can restart it. And I've got popcorn." She held the bowl out to Quinn who looked at it, considering it. Rachel smiled. "Come on, Quinn," she nudged in a sing-song voice, dancing the bowl under Quinn's nose, "I'm going to watch the sequel too!"

Quinn's serious expression finally broke and she smiled, looking down at her hand that fingered Rachel's comforter. She nodded. "Fine."

"Yay!" Rachel said, handing Quinn the bowl. She set up her extra pillows for Quinn to sit against and sat back where she was. "Now, here's what you need to know."

She spent several minutes explaining basic character biographies, relationships, and storylines before starting the movie up again. By the end of the first movie, both Rachel and Quinn were far more comfortable with what was going on.

Rachel got up to change the discs.

"Rachel."

Rachel turned to look at the blonde in her bed. She was eat the tiny crumbs of popcorn at the bottom of the bowl from her fingertip and looked uncertain. "Yes?"

"Thank you."

"For…?"

"The cupcake today."

Rachel smiled. "Of course, Quinn! I just wanted everyone to be as happy as I was for my birthday. I hope you liked it."

"It was the best thing I ever tasted."

Rachel beamed. "Good!"

"That's the thing though," Quinn started. She set the bowl in Rachel's empty spot, and sat up a little straighter. "How did you know I liked green tea?"

Rachel shrugged. "I thought it was obvious."

"It isn't, Rachel. My mother doesn't even know I like green tea."

Rachel thought back to Thanksgiving when she'd put together the order for Crumbs. It had been easy enough to place the entire club with a flavor: Brittany loved all things cherry, Kurt loved Dulce de Leche, Blaine loved coconut, Tina loved Snowcap candies, Mercedes and Santana were chocoholics, Sam loved smores, Puck liked peanut butter and bananas, Finn liked yellow cakes and vanilla frostings, Mr. Schue loved anything minty, Mike loved raspberry jelly filled donuts, Lauren was a cookie dough addict, and Quinn liked green tea.

At least, Rachel was pretty sure she did. The girl had it on her breath sometimes; her hair and cardigans occasionally gave off the sent when she walked by. Rachel only ever saw her drink it when she ordered it at the hotel at nationals before this year.

Honestly, Quinn was the last one she ordered. Her brain had gone straight to the green tea cupcake, with its cream cheese frosting, and sprinkled sugar. The images green tea conjured up just reeked of Quinn to Rachel. Rachel could imagine the girl, especially when pregnant with Beth, curled up on a couch sipping the hot drink. Everything about green tea screamed Quinn.

Rachel almost went against herself to order Quinn standard red velvet, but in the end, she'd ordered the girl the green tea and had the sugar tinged yellow, Quinn's favorite color.

"You drink it sometimes. I thought you might like the cake."

"How would you know? You never ask me what I'm drinking."

"The smell is always on you. And I remember you specifically ordering it with breakfast at nationals."

Quinn sighed. "That's the point, Rachel."

"…I don't follow."

"Sit down."

Rachel did as she was told, returning to her spot beside the blonde. "I'm confused, Quinn."

"So was I. Until this afternoon."

Rachel stared.

"I've been cruel to you for such a long time, Rachel. Since I met you in junior high. I mean, I've been completely fixated with the idea of crushing you for such a long time. And then, Finn got involved, and all I wanted was for you to not be with him."

"Well, that makes sense. You wanted Finn for yourself," Rachel rationalized.

"No, Rachel. I didn't want you with him."

Rachel was very confused now. Hadn't she just said the same thing? "I know."

"No! You don't know."

"Then you need to explain what you mean, because all I'm hearing is what I'm repeating."

Quinn sighed, eyes closed, shaking her head. "I didn't want you with Finn. But I didn't want Finn either, Rachel. I didn't want you with anyone."

Rachel grimaced. "So you just wanted me to be alone? That's really very nice, Quinn."

"At the time, I thought it was because I just wanted you to be miserable. Then I realized if I couldn't be with you, I didn't want you with anyone else."

Rachel stared at the blonde ex-Cheerio. She was absolutely stunned. Quinn wanted to be with her? "You want to be with me?"

"No. Yes. Not exactly." Quinn sighed. "I just don't want you with anyone else." She massaged her temples for a second. "I should probably start at the beginning."

"Yes! Definitely!"

Quinn smiled a little. "Today, when you gave me that cupcake. I thought it was just vanilla, and I was so hungry I bit right in without sniffing it. And when I tasted the green tea…I realized something." She looked away, at anything but Rachel. "You are the most caring person I know. You care about each of us, even when we don't care about."

Rachel blushed a little and smiled. "Really?"

Quinn nodded. "Yes. And I went home, and I thought about some things. In 7th grade, when I told everyone not to come to your birthday, it was because I thought you invited me just to have _the_ Quinn Fabray at your party. We didn't know each other. We'd never talked. It hurt to think about someone using me like that. So I ruined your party. I didn't want you to be happy if you were using me. I only wanted you to be happy if I was using you or something twisted like that."

"But that wasn't my intention!"

"I know that. I know you invited everyone just to make sure no one was left out. Even though you probably should have left me out." Quinn sighed. "And then, in eighth grade, I saw how happy you were with your dads. I was jealous that I had to spend the night on a date with Santana and Brittany and those two lug heads. It was so boring and stupid. Plus, my parents never took me out like that. My parents and I were never happy together. We still aren't. I saw you before you saw us. I saw how happy the three of you were. And I didn't want you to be happy. I wanted to be happy like that, with you because you were so happy I thought surely you could make me happy too. And I was so mad that I wanted to be happy with a loser like Rachel Berry, that I couldn't be happy on a date with my friends and the two most popular boys in school, that I ruined your night and I forced myself to be in a relationship with Finn, even if it wasn't serious until sophomore year. I wanted to keep up appearances and put you down just to remind myself that losers can't be happy. That I wouldn't be happier if we were friends.

"And then freshman year, God, I felt like you were everywhere. All my classes, the locker across the hall, my lunch period. I saw you everywhere. And I always sought you out with my eyes. And I still wanted to be happy with a happy person like you. So I slushied you. Just to remind myself of how lowly you were. That I'd never be happy being your friend, that I'd be miserable. To chase you away, so you'd avoid me at all costs and I wouldn't have to see you."

Rachel sat stunned at all of these admissions. She didn't know what to make of it. Before she could think more of it, Quinn continued.

"I couldn't help that Beth kicked at your slumber party. It was the first time, and I was just so excited, and I suddenly felt such a connection that I thought I might keep her. And when everyone started talking about nurseries and names, I knew immediately again that I couldn't give her that happiness. But I saw how uncomfortable you looked. And I saw the attention Finn was giving me. So I just kept talking with everyone. I wanted Finn to pull further away from you; I wanted you to see that you didn't want the same things he did. That he wasn't good enough for you. So I agreed with everything he said. I mean really, do you think I want to be a stay at home mom to 3 brats who will probably be worse people than I was and stupider than Finn? I'd rather not spend the rest of my life on anti-depressants."

But then Quinn's voice dropped to a whisper. "But last year…when you walked into that restaurant…" Quinn looked right into Rachel's eyes, "you took my breath away."

Rachel stared at the pretty blonde. "Really?"

Quinn nodded. "That was the first time I was physically attracted to you. I realized pretty quickly, watching you smile and have fun, that I'd been emotionally attracted to you for a really long time. That was why I wanted to be your friend. You're so strong, Rachel. Nothing ever get's you down and you're amazingly caring." She wiped at her eyes again. "I was throwing up before you came in the bathroom. I couldn't even handle the thought that I was…attracted to a girl. I had no problem with all my friends being gay but…but me? No." She shook her head.

"But you said to me, that you wanted me to give you the chance to have Finn give you the second chance?"

Quinn smiled. "I worded that perfectly didn't I? God, I was so stupid. I meant…I meant I wanted you to give me a second chance. And when you weren't getting it I flipped out. I only got back together with Finn to win prom queen and make you see that you weren't good with him. That everyone else thought you weren't good with him either. That Finn will never be anything more than the most popular guy in Lima, in high school and when he's a good guy, living here with his why and kids. But you never hurt me, through all that."

"I voted for you guys. But I wanted Finn to win."

"I know. And even after all that, this year, you've given me my second chance. I'm finally almost happy. I gave up on guys to make see if maybe I like other girls. I don't know. I just know that I don't really like guys right now. And you've been so caring still. And the cupcake…that was it for me."

Rachel swallowed. "I don't think I like girls, Quinn."

Quinn nodded. "I didn't think you'd just decide to be my girlfriend, Rachel. I don't know if I do either. I think I just really want to be friends with you. Have you in my life. You're such a positive person, and I'm anything but."

Rachel nodded. "I think we can be friends." Quinn beamed at her. "But I need to tell you something first."

"Anything."

"You've never ruined my birthday."

Quinn stared, then laughed. "Don't joke, Rachel. You don't need to say that just to make me feel better about myself."

"I'm serious. If anything…you've helped me grow as a person. I mean, in 7th grade, when no one came, I realized I didn't need to be dependent on others. In 8th grade, you made me a devout vegan! I love animals! And it wasn't until afterwards that I realized how much using animal products was hurting me physically and spiritually! And when you slushied me, you showed me that I need to hold my head high even if people want to break me down. When Beth kicked, I realized that I don't always need to be the center of attention. That sometimes, other people need it more to make it through. And last year…last year you helped me to see that Finn and I are far better friends than lovers. And this year…you're showing me that I was always right about you. There's just a scared, sweet little girl underneath all that menace."

Quinn nodded and Rachel reached over to squeeze her. "I'd very much like to be your friend, Quinn. And if anything more comes from that, that's fine too. I'm not opposed to finding out new things about myself, or helping you through your sexual crisis. You should definitely talk to my dads. I think they could help you." She pulled away and smiled encouragingly at Quinn.

Quinn smiled to a pressed a quick, friendly kiss to Rachel's cheek. "Thank you, Rachel."

"Of course! Now," she got out of bed and grabbed a pair of pajamas from her dresser, "put these on and call your mom; we're having a Sex and the City sleepover."

That year, Quinn made Rachel's birthday a little less lonely and a little friendlier just once.

* * *

><p>AN: I hope you all enjoyed this. I know I really did. I might write a sequelspin-off because I think this left me with a lot of places to go, but I think that's a little farther down the road. Please leave feedback!


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